1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tank-type toilets and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for conserving water during the flush cycle of the toilet.
2. The Prior Art
The conventional tank-type water closet or toilet is configurated with a water reservoir or tank located above and to the rear of the pedestal. An outlet from the tank directs water into the pedestal where it flushes the wastes therein into the sewer system. A manually operable stopper occludes the outlet and serves as the mechanism for initiation of the flush cycle. A float mechanism inside the tank senses the water level to operate a water inlet valve and replenish the water in the tank after each flush cycle. The flush cycle is commenced by
(1) raising the stopper to allow the water in the tank to flush the pedestal, PA1 (2) the lowering water level in the tank causing PA1 (3) the float to fall and thereby PA1 (4) opening the inlet valve to permit refilling of the tank before the stopper has again closed.
As can be readily observed, the foregoing opening of the inlet valve to refill the tank before the stopper has closed directs water from the inlet valve to the drain. However most conventional toilets are configurated such that there is a sufficient reservoir of static water available in the toilet tank to accomodate a complete suitable flushing of the toilet. The extra water contributed by the premature opening of the inlet valve is generally wasted. For example, it has been estimated that a conventional toilet tank contains a water reservoir of about 41/2 gallons. This is generally considered to be adequate for the flushing cycle. It has also been determined that opening of the inlet valve prior to the cessation of the flushing cycle results in about 11/2 gallons of additional water being used for the flushing cycle and, thereby, wasted.
When consideration is given to the millions of tank-type toilets in use both in residential and commercial buildings, the amount of water wasted during the flushing cycle represents a significant quantity of water. Additionally, since the wasted water is not required for suitably flushing the toilet, the additional water contributes to overloading of sewage treatment facilities. Various water conservancy devices have been proposed and include, for example, the placement of bricks or the like as displacement means in the toilet tank to displace an equal volume of water thereby reducing the total volume of water used in the flushing cycle.
In view of the foregoing, it would be a significant advancement in the art of conserving water, particularly during the flushing cycle of a tank-type toilet, by restraining the toilet tank float until a significant quantity of the static water in the toilet tank has been drained therefrom and thereafter allowing the toilet tank float to be lowered so as to open the inlet valve to refill the toilet tank. It would also be an advancement in the art to provide an apparatus which can be readily adapted to be placed in various commercial models of toilet tanks. An even further advancement in the art would be to provide a method for suitably controlling the lowering of the toilet tank float substantially automatically. Such an apparatus and method is disclosed and claimed in the present invention.